


fool's heart || felix fraldarius/byleth eisner/sylvain gautier

by adrianblaiddyd



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Azure Moon - Freeform, Azure Moon Spoilers, Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/M, Heartbreak, Major Spoilers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Unrequited Love, fe3h spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:35:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29952129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrianblaiddyd/pseuds/adrianblaiddyd
Summary: byleth was in love with felix, but after being rejected by him at the goddess tower, she moved on. felix, however, did not.upon byleth's return after five years, a budding relationship forms between her and sylvain. felix watches from the sidelines as his best friend and the woman he loves fall in love with one another, unable to do anything.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth, Sylvain Jose Gautier/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 16





	1. a reunion at dawn

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first multi-chapter thing i've written since i was a kid, and the first multi-chapter thing i've published. updates will be sporadic.

Five long years had passed since the start of the war, since the day Byleth went missing. Felix’s old classmates, now his comrades in arms, held strongly onto the belief that their professor was still alive and would one day return. Out loud, he admonished them for being so foolish as to think anyone could return unscathed after five years of being lost, but in the depths of his heart and mind, he too hoped that she was still alive, and that he would see her again.

What would have been the millennium festival was approaching, and with it, the anniversary of the promise Byleth and the students had made to return to Garreg Mach to see each other. Along with that, it would be five years to the day Felix shoved his foot in his mouth. Not a day had passed that he didn’t think of the look on Byleth’s face when he cruelly laughed at her for saying she’d hoped to meet him at the Goddess Tower. He had walked away, leaving her standing at the base of the tower with her eyes fixed on the ground. She didn’t notice when he casted a longing, reluctant glance over his shoulder, internally kicking himself for his cold reaction. Despite what he’d said, he had been hoping to see her there, too, though he never expected she’d actually show up. Unsure of how to deal with his feelings, Felix’s pride got the best of him, and he had made an ass of himself to the woman he loved.  
Since then, his mind was plagued with what ifs– they never stopped. What if he’d been honest with himself, and with her? What if he’d been by her side on the battlefield? The thoughts were useless, nothing but laments of a man too foolish to hold onto what was dear to him, but they haunted him all the same.

Felix sat on the stone stairway leading to the entrance hall of the monastery, clutching the hunting dagger Byleth had given him shortly after she first came to the academy. When she had handed him the dagger, encased in leather, he muttered a nonchalant thanks, but he kept it on his person ever since. Showing emotions, aside from anger when necessary, wasn’t his strong suit, but he still had them, contrary to popular belief. He felt many things– about Dimitri’s descent into madness, no doubt catalysed by Byleth’s disappearance; about his late brother; about the horrors of war; and most of all, about Byleth.  
The sound of yelling and swords clanking pulled Felix’s mind away from his thoughts, and he tucked the knife away before instinctively reaching for his sword. Without him noticing, the sun had begin to break on the horizon, faint dawn light washing over the monastery. The fighting sounds were close, seemingly within the dilapidated monastery. He jumped from his seat on the stairs and made his way towards the racket.  
In the distance, he could make out some of his old classmates clashing with what looked like some petty thieves. One figure stood out though, as they tore through the group of bandits without hesitation– an unmistakable fighting style that he would recognize anywhere. It could be no one other than Byleth… but how could it be?  
With an uncomfortable feeling rising inside his chest, Felix made his way out onto the battlefield, sword at the ready. He made quick work of some stragglers that were attempting to run off with stolen goods.  
“Felix! I thought you weren’t coming!” Sylvain shouted from a few feet away, slinging the blood off his axe.  
Felix shot him an annoyed look. “I couldn’t leave you without supervision, Gautier.”  
Sylvain laughed. “Hey, looks like Professor and His Highness finished off the bandits’ leader!”  
No sooner than the words left his mouth, the redhead was running across the rubble towards the ruined building Dimitri was standing at. Hearing Sylvain so casually talk about the professor hit Felix like a burst of lightning, and he rushed after him.

His old classmates were surrounding Byleth, who stood in the middle of their circle. Dimitri was standing away from everyone, but no one paid him any mind. The missing-in-action professor they all adored was alive, and right in front of them.  
“Professor! I missed you so much!”  
“I’m so glad you’re safe!”  
“Where have you been?”  
“Your fighting skills sure haven’t dulled over time!”  
Felix stood a few feet away, watching bitterly as they all gushed over her, smothering her in hugs. 

Once the reunion was over, everyone made their way to the Cathedral, where they’d update Byleth on everything that had happened and presumably make a strategy for the war ahead.


	2. meeting at wilting rose inn

Byleth was standing at the pond, staring into the water at the fish, envious of their obliviousness. The sound of footsteps distracted her, and she reflexively tensed up.

“Professor,” Sylvain called out.

She relaxed and turned to see her former student walking hurriedly towards her.  
“What is it, Syl–”  
She cut herself off mid-sentence as Sylvain wrapped his arms tightly around her abdomen, leaning down and resting his forehead against her shoulder.  
“I missed you… so much,” he mumbled, his voice cracking. “I was so scared I’d never see you again.”  
The wetness of tears soaked through her overcoat, and Byleth carefully snaked her arms around Sylvain’s shoulders, cradling his head in one hand and the nape of his neck in the other. In the time she’d spent with Sylvain, he’d faced the most daunting things with an aloof, carefree attitude. The only time his resolve had faltered was during the battle with his older brother, though he still tried his best to pretend that he was unphased. Byleth couldn’t begin to imagine the horrors he’d faced over the last four years, and felt herself tearing up at the thought of him facing all of it alone. He wouldn’t dare cry in front of others.  
“Sylvain… I’m sorry,” Byleth whispered, stroking his hair. “I promise I won’t leave you again.”

After a while of standing, crying into Byleth’s shirt, Sylvain stood up straight and wiped away what remained of his tears on his sleeve. As if nothing had happened, he put back on his signature smile.  
“You’re even more beautiful than I remember, Professor,” he stated, grinning sheepishly.  
Byleth sighed and laughed. “I see you haven’t changed too much. I was worried for a moment.”  
Casually, Sylvain threw his arm around Byleth’s shoulders. “What do you mean, Professor? I’ve changed plenty.”  
Byleth giggled, hiding her blushing face in her hand. “I’ll have to see it to believe it.”  
“Hm, fine by me. I’ll just have to show you, so make sure you’re paying attention, alright?” Sylvain stated, an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.

Neither of the pair noticed that they were being observed by Felix, who was standing in the doorway of the dining hall. Disgruntled, he turned and walked away, a foul taste lingering in his mouth.  
Jealousy wasn’t a familiar feeling to Felix, he’d always been content with himself– but seeing Sylvain with Byleth caused his chest to tighten with envy. He had wanted to apologize, and confess his true feelings, but that was now out of the question. After seeing the way she looked at his old friend, Felix knew that any chance he may have had was now long gone.

Byleth made her way back to her quarters, her mind swimming with thoughts about her interaction with Sylvain. The raw emotion he showed, that only she was able to witness, left her seeing him in a new light. Five years ago, he’d been a relentless flirt that dated and dumped girls as a hobby– the type of guy she’d want to avoid at all costs– but she couldn’t deny that she felt special when he clung to her, nor could she deny how fervently she’d blushed at his flirting and the butterflies in her stomach. He insisted that he’d grown up, and it may have been meaningless, but deep down, she longed to have someone to confide in, to run to on a bad day. Formerly, it had been Felix that claimed her affections. He met her emotions with cold, unbiased logic, and though for most that would have been uncomfortable, it was what she’d needed– or at least, it had been back then.  
After their interaction at the goddess tower, things between her and Felix had been strained to say the least. She found it hard to talk to him, embarrassed at her schoolgirl crush and how harsh his reaction had been. How could she look him in the eye after that? Felix seemed unphased by it, though he didn't make any attempts to close the distance between them, save for fighting right beside her on the battlefield. Though Felix’s rejection hurt more than she was willing to admit, she couldn't find it in her to be angry with him. It was her own fault for being foolish enough to think he felt the same– he cared for her, sure, as a person, a training partner, and a mentor, but nothing more and she should've known that. He had probably long forgotten the mishap, granted he’d been fighting in a war for five years, but for Byleth, who’d spent those years unconscious, it was still fresh in her mind.

Exhausted from the hectic week spent dealing with Dimitri and trying to strategize despite his lack of cooperation, as well as the strain of catching up on five years worth of war, Byleth made her way down to Abyss. Her sights were set on the Wilting Rose Inn, where she was determined to drink away her stress.  
When she walked in, the regulars looked at her as though they’d seen a ghost. Perhaps that was a fitting way to feel, all things considered, but she immediately felt overwhelmed by the need to explain her disappearance, and how unlikely it was that any of them would believe her. If she hadn’t lived it, she wouldn’t believe it herself.

“Friend,” Yuri’s familiar voice coaxed her out of her nervous thoughts. She turned in the direction of his voice, smiling at the sight of him sitting at a table in the far corner. “Come over here.”  
Byleth nodded and made her way to the table, where Balthus and Sylvain were sitting.  
“Sylvain?”  
The knight looked up and grinned. “Professor! What are you doing here? And all alone, at that.”  
“I needed a drink, or five,” Byleth admitted, mumbling the last part. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”  
“Sylvain here has been hanging out in the Wilting Rose with us for quite a while,” Balthus said, slinging a muscular arm over Sylvain’s shoulders. “Getting drunk and talking about how much he misses you is a nightly routine for him.”  
Sylvain nearly spat out his drink as his face turned as red as his hair, and he forced a laugh. “Balthus is exaggerating,” he stated, nervously. “It’s only happened a few times.”  
Byleth blushed slightly, thankful for the dim lighting that would hide it. “I didn’t realize I was so important to you.”  
Yuri and Balthus exchanged glances that Byleth intentionally overlooked.  
“Are you kidding, Professor? Had I not made it obvious enough?” Sylvain exclaimed. “Of course you’re important to me. The most important person in the world.”  
“If you say so,” Byleth said, giggling casually, as if her stomach filling with butterflies at the indignant look on Sylvain’s face and the weight of his words. He probably says that about every girl.  
Irritated with her nonchalant response, Sylvain sighed and rose from his seat. “I’m gonna go.”  
Byleth grabbed his wrist gently, tugging at him. “No, stay here for a while, please.”  
He sighed and looked down at her, his annoyed expression softening at her touch and her pleading eyes.  
“Yeah, okay. How could I say no to you?”  
Balthus and Yuri sat in silence, watching them in amusement and disbelief.  
“Um, if you two are done, should we order more drinks?” Yuri asked, tapping his gloved fingers against the table.  
Byleth and Sylvain both felt their faces heat up and they sat down, embarrassed.  
“Yes, please,” Byleth replied, reminded of what she came down here for in the first place.

The night went by smoothly, with lots of laughs shared between the four of them. Byleth's stressors were washed away, if only temporarily, by the warmth of alcohol and being surrounded by her old students and friends. More than a few times, she caught Sylvain’s gaze lingering on her, but she ignored it as best as she could. Yuri and Balthus caught her up to speed on their shenanigans and the happenings in Abyss, with Sylvain chiming in with stories of his own. Without anything to share, Byleth sat and listened intently, asking questions or commenting every now and then.  
After a while, exhaustion creeped up on her, and she decided to head back to her quarters for the night. She told the boys goodbye and gave them all a hug, then started to leave the Inn.  
“Professor, hold on!” Sylvain called out from behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Let me walk you back, yeah?”  
“That’d be lovely, Sylvain,” she replied.

The two walked in silence through Abyss and out into the street above ground. Overhead, the moon shined brightly, illuminating the outlines of the buildings and defining each brick and blade of grass with pale blue.  
“The stars…” Byleth whispered, staring up at the sky in awe. “They’re beautiful. And they never change.”  
Sylvain looked down at her, watching the way her pale green eyes sparkled in the starlight.  
“You’re the same,” he replied.  
“Huh?”  
“It’s been five years, Professor. In all the time you were away, you haven’t changed at all. You still look the same, act the same. And you’re beautiful as always. Like the stars,” he explained, staring at her intently.  
“Sylvain, you really take every opportunity to flirt, huh?” Byleth teased, before looking at the ground. “I’ve changed plenty since I came here, though. Humans don’t have the ability to remain completely unchanged, not in the way the stars do.”  
“In war and peace, they still shine brightly in their designated place. Unaware, uncaring of what’s going on beneath them. Our actions, our feelings… they don’t phase the stars,” Byleth continued, unintentionally rambling. “I’m envious of them. They don’t know pain and they don’t care about ours.”  
“That’s true, but they don’t know happiness either. Or love. That’s something we have that they don’t,” Sylvain stated, his eyes still locked on Byleth.  
Byleth hummed in thought. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”  
Silence filled the space between them once more, while Byleth continued staring at the sky.  
“I should go to my room,” she said finally.  
“Professor…”  
“Goodnight, Sylvain. Get some sleep.”  
Discarding what he wanted to say, Sylvain simply nodded. “Will do. See ya tomorrow, Professor.”


End file.
